“I love it!” she managed to croak at him around the frog in her throat. “I don’t know what to say, Bam. You shouldn't have done all this for me!”
He smiled even bigger and said, “It was my idea, but everybody helped. Come inside and see if you like it. Whatever you don’t like, you can fix any way you want it.”
She followed him up the steps, and he stood aside to allow her to open her front door. Wow! Her front door, “I actually have my own front door,” she murmured as she went into her house. “I actually have my own house,” she managed to squeak out around happy tears. They all chuckled at her and followed her into her house. It was beautiful. There were hard wood floors that were stained a pretty honey color, but they had left the naturally occurring patterns in the wood that were easily seen through the stain. They had covered two of the walls with white pine boards and left about 1/4 inch of space between each so that it was given a log cabin feel. The opposite two walls were painted a deep warm merlot red, so that every other wall in the living area was either log or warm red. The ceiling beams above were exposed and from them in the very center of the room hung a ceiling fan made of black wrought iron. The wrought iron was made to meander and curve like an ivy vine, and from time-to-time there were pieces of the vine that spiked off in one direction or another and ended in a small ivy leaf. The vine had pieces that dropped down and spun around to hold a light bulb that was covered in a little flower-shaped glass cup. There were five of these; this was the light kit for the ceiling fan. There were lamps in two corners of the room, one a table lamp and the other a standing corner lamp that matched it, and they both were made of the same black wrought iron ivy pattern. Goldy whisper-screamed from behind her, “I made the light fixtures.” She turned around and whisper-screamed back, “They are beautiful, Goldy. I can’t imagine anything else fitting in here so well — you are truly talented.” He beamed at her and actually started blushing. She couldn't believe that this big brash man could blush. She turned back to the room and started taking in the rest of the details. The furniture was made of a plaid flannel-covered couch in ivory, green and the same merlot red that was on the walls. It was a heavy wooden couch, and there were two chairs that matched-one in deep forest green and the other in that same deep warm red. The throw rug in the middle of the room beneath the furniture was hand woven and was the creamy ivory color that was found in the couch fabric as well. There was a gas space heater in the corner that had those ceramic logs in it that made it look like a real fireplace, and it had pretty brass-framed doors on it, so she could see the fake logs and blue flames in it when it was winter time. There were end tables, and… “Oh, My God! Bookcases, you made me bookcases!” There were book cases built into one of the walls. They all chuckled and started walking around the room pointing out all the things they had contributed while she went over to the bookcases and ran her hands over them lovingly. She couldn't wait to fill these shelves. It was perfect, so perfect. Mav pointed out the flat screen TV mounted on the wall opposite the couch and chairs and said, “I put that there, and you’re welcome. It’s for football games and late-night movies.” She grinned at him and said, “I knew you did — it has Mav written all over it.” He grinned, a real one, not that sarcastic crap he so often threw around. And she started tearing up all over again. That TV meant that they planned on spending time with her here, not just sending her off to her cabin, so they could get rid of the woman. Mav said, “I put a George Foreman Grill in the kitchen, too. So we can make hamburgers if you don’t feel like cooking. And I got ya lots of microwave popcorn and bags of M&M’s, too.” Apparently they planned on spending a lot of time with her here, and she loved the idea.
They took her on the full tour. The kitchen was just right. It was small, but had everything she needed and lots of cabinet space. It was a pale butter yellow and was decorated with sunflowers on the edges of the white curtains. The drawer and pantry pulls were all little ceramic sunflowers. The cabinets were white with pale yellow accents on them. The white and natural wood table was one of those with a bench on one side. It would sit at least 6, two on each side and one at each end. A couple of more if we squenched up close to each other. There was a rack over the gas stove that had pots and pans hanging from it, and the lids were on top of the little wire shelf on top of the rack. There was a handmade wooden shelf over the stove that had all kinds of spices and oils on it. The appliances were all white. The sink was an old farmhouse type that was very deep and had a separation in the middle, so you actually had two sides to the sink. There was no back door in the kitchen, and Bane explained that it was because they wanted the only door in the place to face the clearing that was center to where we all lived. Bane added that every room had windows that she could get out of if she needed to, but the only outside door was the front door. She had no problem with that. They showed her the bathroom next. It had a huge claw-footed tub with a crescent-shaped shower rod mounted above it, a ruffled shower curtain hanging from it. The bathroom was navy blue and white. Two of the walls were navy blue, but not so dark that they looked black; the other two were white. The floor was a tile pattern of little blue and white squares. The curtain in the window was white with a silk blue ribbon woven through the bottom of it just above a pretty white ruffle. The towels on the open rack above the toilet were all white or blue, and the wash rags were the same, a mix of solid white and solid blue. Her favorite shampoo and conditioner and bar soap were already sitting on the corner shelf beside the bathtub. The mat outside the tub was blue, and there was an electric heater sitting across the room wrapped neatly with the wire around itself waiting patiently until it was needed. The bedroom was next. She stood inside the doorway and just smiled. The walls were painted a pale sage green. The throw rug was a rich cream color, and the bed was a huge four poster piled high with pillows and comforters. It wasn't huge like a king size, it was huge “high.” She hated short little beds, and apparently Bam had heard her complain about Kaid’s bed being so close to the floor. She would need a foot stool to climb into this one, and she freaking loved it!!! The comforter and sheets were a soft sage green, with white piping on them. The posts of the bed itself were painted white. Some of the pillows on the bed featured a similar shade of pale sage green as the walls and others were soft greys and whites. Even the curtains on the wall featured all the same colors. It tied everything together. It was beautiful. All through the house, the ceiling beams were exposed, which added to the cabin feel. It was home. She turned to them as they watched her walk around the room. “I can’t believe you guys did all this for me. Why would you do all this?”
“’Cause everybody needs a sanctuary, I already told you that, Ave,” Bam answered.
Bane was leaning against the fridge when he told her, “Here you have the space to be you, while still being one of us, Ave. We need you to be with us.” He never lifted his eyes from the floor, and when he said this last part, he said it so quietly that she almost missed it. She got it then, she knew why they had done this, why Bam had started it. They were afraid if she didn't have something to hang on to, to anchor her here, she would leave them. She hadn't allowed Kaid to complete his claim, and they didn't yet know how committed she was to them. “I love it,” she told them as she looked each one in the eye, one after the other, making sure they saw her heart and the truth there. “I love it, and I belong here. But just so you know, if you guys leave here, I’ll leave it in a heartbeat to follow you. You guys are my home.”
“You guys are my heart,” and she looked at Bam.
“My salvation,” as she looked at Kaid.
“My strength,” as she looked at Bane.
“My security,” as she smiled at Goldy.
“And my happiness,” as she looked at Mav.
Each one of them smiled and met her eyes in turn. Then they all went to her and wrapped her up in the middle of a group hug. She had never been so happy, and there were happy purrs and chuffs all around. And she knew she would never leave here.
Chapter 9
After the grand reveal this morning, the guys had all gone about their business leaving her to get to know her little cabin. They were working around the property. Bam was at his shop tinkering with his gadgets. She could hear the grinder that Goldy was using as he worked on an old motorcycle from his stash. Mav and Kaid were filling potholes in the dirt drive that lead through their property. Bane had headed off to hit the grocery, armed with a list of ingredients to make all the things she wanted to make them for dinner, their first dinner in her new home. And here she stood, looking around her little living room. Bane had almost been aggressive in the way he had volunteered, then insisted that he be the one to go to the grocery. He’d practically snarled when Mav had offered to ride along. “Fuck, can’t a guy get two fucking minutes alone?” he’d snapped at Mav as he was already walking to Bam’s truck. Bam had just smiled at him indulgently and leaned down to quietly tell her, “He really likes the grocery. A lot.” She met his eyes a bit confused over that last comment. “Umm, OK.” Bam just grinned really big like he had just shared a really awesome secret. She’d have to figure that one out later. She was beginning to realize that Bam had insight to just about everybody and everything. You just had to pay attention to his little comments, and you’d know everybody’s secrets before too long.
“Damn! it’s always so bright in this damn store. You’d think with the way everything is so old and faded in here, they’d turn down the damn brightness a little.” It always blinded him a little when he first walked in. He snagged a basket and headed down the middle aisle. His eyes scanned everyone and everything as he moved. He was antsy, anxious in his perusal of the place, getting more tense by the second. Hands tightening on the basket, knuckles whitening, breathing quickening, blood rushing in his ears. Then suddenly: all was good, quieting, calm, peaceful as his eyes found her. There she was, in the back aisle, stacking packages on a display. He’d panicked when he couldn’t find her. But it was okay now — she was here and she was safe. He decided to ignore the unreasonable fear he’d felt when he couldn't find her. She was nice to him, and she was sweet, so he liked to make sure that she was okay whenever he happened to have a reason to come into the little local grocery. That was all it was. He also refused to acknowledge the fact that he almost shredded the list that Avaleigh had tried to hand to Mav to send him on this errand. He had made a grab for it before it had even landed in Mav’s hands. Also he routinely made up reasons to come back into the store, and he forgot things that were on his list or didn't like to buy more than enough for a day or two at a time. It just meant that he didn't know what he would like on any given day. That was all it was, nothing special. Then she looked up and saw him watching her. She smiled shyly and gave a little wave before she lowered her eyes and went back to stacking boxes. He stood for a second longer watching her work. She was a little smaller than his usual taste in women. She was delicate and small. Her soft brown hair was pulled back from her face in a pony tail. Pulled back like that he could see the golden streaks the sun had painted into it. She had big beautiful brown eyes whose golden high lights matched those in her hair. There was a slight curve to her hips, and she had smallish breasts. Every move she made was so graceful and feminine. To him she was fucking perfect. But she was young, maybe 20 or 21, way too young for the likes of him. And way too sweet. He couldn't have her, not ever. He was far too dominant, and if she ever even guessed at what he might truly be, she’d be terrified. He knew this, he told himself this, yet he couldn't stay away from her. He’d tried, and almost every day he found himself back in this grocery hoping for just a glimpse of her. She soothed him, calmed his beast, gave him a glimpse of peace he never knew existed, so he sought her out.
Janie felt like she was being watched. She lifted her eyes and there he was, that beautiful man, still standing there watching her. He came into the store a lot. She’d seen the ladies that both worked here and shopped here try to get his attention, but he seemed to never even notice they were there. She had privately come to call them his groupies in her head because they damn near followed him around the store when he came in. It was always the same almost every day. He came in, picked up a few things, said a few nice words to her and then was on his way. She had thought once or twice that maybe he was coming in for her, but then she stopped those thoughts right away. She knew better than to think anyone would look at her twice, much less a man like him. She had a mirror; she knew what looked back at her. She was plain and boring, plain just like her name. She had known all her life that she was nothing to get excited about. But for once she was thankful for it because she thought that maybe that was why he chose her to talk to. The others practically threw themselves all over him and she didn't. She was safe to talk to without having to fend off the women. She just thanked the powers that be that she was in a place that he came into often, so she could have the pleasure of looking at him. Plain, unassuming Janie had a crush and… holy crap that crush was headed right for her!
Bane approached her display like he had searched the whole store for exactly what she was stacking in little pyramid shapes. “Hi, how’re you?” Bane growled at her, his beast way too close to the surface.
He almost purred when she looked up at him and briefly met his eyes from beneath her lashes before quickly glancing back down, “I'm good today, yourself?”
“Doing good, doing good,” He kind of lifted the list in her direction, “Got some stuff I have to pick up.”
“You need me to help you find anything or you okay?” I cannot believe I just offered to help him shop, Oh my God, I’m as bad as his damn groupies!” Janie thought to herself.
“Naw, I got it. I just needed this…” as he took the little box off of the stack she was making. He looked down at the package in his hand and almost choked at what he was holding, but he was in this now, so he had to power through. “Box of tampons,” he managed to garble out. He met her eyes and swore for a moment he saw disappointment there.
“Oh, well, now you have them,” she said to him.
“Yes, I got ‘em. Avaleigh would have sent me back if I came home without them.”
She couldn't believe that she was standing here with this beautiful man she really didn't know, discussing tampons. For his woman. And she was near tears. Because he had a woman. And she didn't even know him. Damn, she was pathetic. She needed to try to save a little face here. “Avaleigh is a really pretty name. Bet it fits your wife perfectly,” she managed to get out and was quite proud of herself for her quick recovery.
He inhaled deeply, and she could have sworn that he was smelling her. Bane was confused — she smelled hurt, disappointed. He looked around for what could have upset her, but it was just her and him. He turned back to her at her comment, “Huh?”
“I said, Avaleigh is a pretty name. Bet it matches your wife.” She smiled at him as she finished repeating her statement, and it looked a little sad to him.
Then he got it. She was disappointed because she thought he was married. His heartbeat sped up — he felt like the sun had just come out and was shining directly on him. She liked him. He bent his knees a bit and stooped down a little to try to catch her eyes but she kept looking down. Damn, he was going to have to do something about that. She should have all the confidence in the world. It killed him that she didn't. He reached out a hand and placed the tip of one finger under her chin, so he could gently lift her head, and her eyes would meet his. When she finally looked at him, he said softly, “I don’t have a wife. I don’t have a woman. Avaleigh is my sister.” The smile she awarded him was worth everything he had ever had or would ever have. “She just moved into her own place and wanted to make us dinner. I volunteered to come get everything she needed. So… here I am.” The smile she flashed at him almost dropped him to his knees. She practically glowed to find out that he didn't have a woman in his life.
“You come here a lot,” she commented through her now constant grin.
“Yes, I do.”
; “Why don’t you just get more on each trip — then, you wouldn't have to stop by so often?”
“If I did that, I wouldn't get to see you as much.”
Her heart stuttered, and her breath froze in her lungs, “You come to see me?”
He nodded at her slowly, deliberately, “I come to see you.”
“Oh, well, okay,” she squeaked out around the breath she was still holding.
“Janie?”
“Yes?”
“You’re crushing the box you’re holding.”
“Huh? Aw hell, I mean, damn, I mean dang, I mean. Oh, never mind.”
Bane just chuckled at her, she was so fucking sweet. “I have to go now. You working tomorrow?”
I'm Not A Dragon's Mate! Page 9
